TY - JOUR

T1 - Are familial factors underlying the association between socioeconomic position and prescription medicine?

T2 - A register-based study on Danish twins

AU - Madsen, Mia

AU - Andersen, Per Kragh

AU - Gerster, Mette

AU - Andersen, Anne-Marie Nybo

AU - Osler, Merete

AU - Christensen, Kaare

PY - 2013

Y1 - 2013

N2 - OBJECTIVES: Although well established, the association between socioeconomic position and health and health behaviour is not clearly understood, and it has been speculated that familial factors, for example, dispositional factors or exposures in the rearing environment, may be underlying the association. The objective was to compare prescription fillings within twin pairs who are partly or fully genetically identical and share childhood exposures.DESIGN: Twin cohort study.SETTING: Denmark.PARTICIPANTS: Data from the Danish Twin Registry were linked to registers in Statistics Denmark and the Danish Registry of Medicinal Product statistics. A total of 8582 monozygotic (MZ) and 15 788 dizygotic same sex (DZSS) twins were included.OUTCOME MEASURES: Number of prescription fillings during follow-up (1995-2005) was analysed according to education and income. Results of unpaired and intrapair analyses were compared.RESULTS: An inverse social gradient in filling of prescriptions for all-purpose and system-specific drugs was observed in the unpaired analyses. In the intrapair analyses, associations were attenuated some in DZSS and more in MZ twins. Filling of drugs targeting the nervous system was still strongly associated with income in the intrapair analyses.CONCLUSIONS: Familial factors seem to account for part of the observed social inequality in filling of prescription medicine.

AB - OBJECTIVES: Although well established, the association between socioeconomic position and health and health behaviour is not clearly understood, and it has been speculated that familial factors, for example, dispositional factors or exposures in the rearing environment, may be underlying the association. The objective was to compare prescription fillings within twin pairs who are partly or fully genetically identical and share childhood exposures.DESIGN: Twin cohort study.SETTING: Denmark.PARTICIPANTS: Data from the Danish Twin Registry were linked to registers in Statistics Denmark and the Danish Registry of Medicinal Product statistics. A total of 8582 monozygotic (MZ) and 15 788 dizygotic same sex (DZSS) twins were included.OUTCOME MEASURES: Number of prescription fillings during follow-up (1995-2005) was analysed according to education and income. Results of unpaired and intrapair analyses were compared.RESULTS: An inverse social gradient in filling of prescriptions for all-purpose and system-specific drugs was observed in the unpaired analyses. In the intrapair analyses, associations were attenuated some in DZSS and more in MZ twins. Filling of drugs targeting the nervous system was still strongly associated with income in the intrapair analyses.CONCLUSIONS: Familial factors seem to account for part of the observed social inequality in filling of prescription medicine.

U2 - 10.1136/bmjopen-2013-003292

DO - 10.1136/bmjopen-2013-003292

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 24227869

VL - 3

SP - e003292

JO - BMJ Open

JF - BMJ Open

SN - 2044-6055

IS - 11

ER -